End of Summer Giveaway!

I'm so excited to announce that School Daisies in having the first ever giveaway!

In celebration of the start of the new school year, I'm giving away a sheet of Jamberry nail wraps.  There are certain times of year that I like my nails to look "polished." Back to School is one of them.  Coming out of the summer and not even trying to compete with the sand, ocean water, pool water, gardening, etc my nails always look like they could use a little attention. 

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Good Luck!!  The winner will be chosen and contacted at the end of the giveaway.

Conversation Task Cards

I have ten days left before I meet my new group of kids.  I'm soaking in every last minute of summer while keeping a part of my mind on planning out those first few days of school.  In years past I've done various ice breaker activities but this year I thought I would do something a little different and get the kids talking to each other.  I want them to have meaningful getting to know you conversations. I plan on using these Conversation Task Cards to get the conversations flowing.

My students are seated in groups of 4 so I will put a stack in the center of their group.  After modeling a few times, they can take turns (such an important concept for them) speaking, listening, and asking each other questions.   These conversation cards can then be used at a later time as a writing center activity.  I will put them on a binder ring and students who visit the writing center can choose a question and respond. 

It wouldn't be September without a little Johnny Appleseed.

Every year I like to spend a few days on this American Pioneer, Johnny Appleseed.  He is a historical figure that the students LOVE to learn about. I think it's because he walks such a fine line somewhere between one of America's pioneers and the tooth fairy.  We read both the biography of John Chapman and the Tall Tales of Johnny Appleseed and I know all the kids want to believe that he really does sleep with bears and wrestle giant fish.
Last year we focused on Johnny Appleseed, the story teller. We wrote some tall tales of our own. This was a lot of fun and you can read all about it by clicking here. 
This year I'm focusing on Johnny Appleseed but exploring the true history behind him.  I have a great set of biographies that are at the perfect reading level for second grade. I ordered them from Scholastic a couple of years ago and they have been so useful (especially later in the year when we write cereal box biography reports).  

Here is our set of biographies.  There are six of each so I will do the reading part of this activity in guided reading groups.

After reading the biography the students complete these four pages. The first page is where the students draw a picture of our dear old Johnny.  The next three pages is where they answer, who?what? and where? There is just enough space for two or three sentence answers which is all I think many of the newly second graders can handle this early in the year.  

You can download my Johnny Appleseed Stand Up Writing Project by visiting my TpT Store.

What are some of your fun Johnny Appleseed activities? I would love to hear in the comments below :)

"Currently" what I am up to.

It's September 3rd and the night before SCHOOL STARTS.  Why on earth am I awake when I should be resting my brain and body for tomorrow??  This is my first time linking up with Farley at Oh Boy Fourth Grade.   Here it is.

Listening:  "Chopped" is my night time show. It's perfect because it's the kind of show that I can let "watch me."  I don't have to follow any kind of story line drama. It plays in the background while I do school work, clean up the house, or ultimately drift asleep.  I started watching it last fall when my infant son was waking for his night time feedings. It was ALWAYS playing in the wee hours of the morning when I needed something to keep me from falling asleep.  

Loving:  Don't get me wrong, I love summer. However, Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. As soon as September 1st hits, I am all about the Country Apple, Pumpkin, and Harvest scents. It makes me feel good.

Thinking: Tomorrow is the first day of school with my students and also the first day of school for my oldest daughter.  I know I have a busy day ahead and that at 6am when my alarm (or 10 month old son) wakes me up I am going to regret being up this late. 

Wanting: I wish with all my heart that there was a way for me to be in two places at once because tomorrow is my oldest daughter's first day of Kindergarten. It is her first day riding the bus and going to full day big kid school.  I want to be there so badly to see her off.  It is also my first day with my students so taking the day off wasn't really a possibility.  Well, on the upside my husband no doubt will videotape every second of the walk to the bus stop, her getting on the bus, and the bus pulling away. He is very thorough at documenting moments. I'm thankful for that. 

Needing: I know I'm not the only one needing more hours in the day but let me present my case to you and I think you will agree that more time is something I need.  My day is full, jam packed, bursting with activity from the minute I wake up until I go to sleep. I have three young children. So in addition to being a teacher I am a cook, maid, driver, grocery shopper, entertainer, bath giver, story time reader (my FAVORITE time of day),  and a monster under the bed exterminator.  My day is full but most of all I remember that my heart is full too :)  I love every second of my crazy life.

3 Trips:  Number one on here is Vegas. It has nothing to do with the TpT conference, although that would be fun to attend one day. The reason I chose Vegas is because in October my sisters and I are meeting in Vegas for a long weekend to celebrate a 40th birthday!!! (Not mine...I'm the youngest of the three sisters and I always take an opportunity to point that out ;)  

Number two is Greece.  I have been to Greece more times than I can think of right now. My family is from there and as a kid we spent a minimum 6 weeks there every summer. I recognize that I am one lucky duck to have ties to the most beautiful place I've been. 

Number three is Alaska. I have always wanted to go. It seems so majestic and large.  I imagine the air is really crisp and has a fresh smell to it.  I have to check it out one day. 

Should we make something new for Back To School Night?

Every year it seems I tend to do similar things for back to school night to spruce up the classroom. This year, Back To School Night is less than a week after school begins so time is not plentiful for large, elaborate (yet beautiful) crafts.
No problem! I came up with this little three dimensional writing craft that will add a little liveliness to the student's desks for when the parents make their visit. Instead of having the students draw a picture of themselves I am going to glue down a photo of them. This will also be helpful to the parents when they walk in to find their child's desk.  All they have to do is look for his/her picture.

It is a perfect start of the school year activity as well because it helps kids focus on a goal they have and some of their favorite things about being in school.  Plus, 3D anything is a bonus!!

I know that sometimes at the beginning of the school year, students are on all different levels of learning so I also included unlined schoolhouses for students to draw pictures instead of writing.  

Whenever we do any writing projects in the beginning of the year, I always brainstorm words we might need and write them on the board. To help out the little writers a bit, I included a "words you might need" list right on the page.  

You can visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store and download one to use in your classroom. 

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Loved That Lesson

Loved That Lesson!

Today I'm linking up with Meg from The Teacher Studio to share one of my all time favorite lessons. It's a great "Getting To Know You" lesson that works well at Back-To-School time.

To teach this lesson you only need two things, a copy of Kevin Henkes book, Chester's Way and some green construction paper.

If you haven't read this story yet, Chester's Way is about a little mouse named Chester and his very close friend Wilbur.  Both Chester and Wilbur enjoy the same types of games and have the same "play it safe" personalities.  They do everything together and refer to themselves as "two peas in a pod."  However, when a third little mouse, Lilly moves into the neighborhood they are presented with a very different type of character. Lilly is creative and spontaneous.  Chester and Wilson are uncomfortable with her unconventional ways but soon learn to love them and they become "three peas in a pod?"

The students love this story and it sparks a great discussion on friendship.  Students think of a friend that they would consider the "other pea to their pod" and we brainstorm a list of things we do together with our friend.  

The students then create a "pea in a pod" craft to showcase two things they do with their best friend.

(we do gymnastics together, we play four square)  

These make a great bulletin board and the kids have a great time sharing and getting to know one another.  

I absolutely love teaching this lesson!! 

What is your favorite lesson?

  

Livening up the Classroom Library

Ten years ago when I was just starting my third year of teaching I decided to take on the daunting task of organizing my classroom library. I will never forget the endless hours I spent buried in piles of books.  First, I should mention that my classroom library collection was huge for a fairly new teacher. Second, this had little to do with me and a lot to do with the fact that I "inherited" a classroom full of books when I was first hired in my school. I was very excited about this but with no organization system it was IMPOSSIBLE to even use my library. Needless to say it was 100 percent necessary that I sorted them out.
Fast forward 10 years.. My classroom library is a fully organized and functional system.  I spend a few lessons at the start of the school year teaching the students all about the classroom library, how to borrow books, return books, etc in an effort to keep it together.  This year I am going to assign two or three students to be "Librarians."  Their classroom job will be to help any students with the borrowing/returning process. I'm hoping that if they are watching each other they will be less likely to "stick" a book where ever they please. Fingers crossed...

This year I decided I am going to liven up my classroom library a bit.  First, I stopped in the dollar tree and was excited when I found 30 perfectly sized bins all in the SAME COLOR!! That is so rare especially at this time of the year when teachers are raiding all the local Dollar Spots for storage and organization purposes.  I guess this was my lucky day.  I'm using the white bins for my library and I haven't decided yet on the other colored bins but they seemed like they were the perfect size for something??

This year I am transforming my space into a Polka Dot Themed Classroom. To go along with that I have made Polka Dot themed Classroom Library Labels.  In my room I level the books by Guided Reading Levels A-Z and then into genres and categories as well.  Here is a preview of my Classroom Library Labels. You can download them from my TpT store.  I included 55 category/genre labels. I really racked my brain to think of as many as I could but in case I missed something that you have in your classroom, I included a blank page as well for you to fill in yourself.  

And here are my book bins ready and waiting to be filled with books. I haven't been into my classroom yet to begin setting up. We have a full month left of summer vacation and I don't want to rush it away too quickly.

Thinking Ahead of Schedule

Today I am thinking ahead of schedule.  I think it was my stroll down the school supply aisle (which is already showcased in all the stores) that got me thinking about September and Back To School.  I couldn't resist picking up some classroom supplies when I came across a 24 box of crayons for 25 cents or 77 cents for a box of markers!! Whether I will hand them out the first day or keep them as a back up supply for mid year when the students are scribbling with broken crayons, I'm not sure?? I also don't know how many of these fresh boxes of markers, crayons, and pencils will make it past my two little girlies who LOVE to color????

Today I created a little "My First Day" booklet for the students to work on.  It's a good way to assess writing/reading skills.  I'm sure I will have students breeze through it no problem as well as students who will struggle with the first page.  I will use this as my first unofficial tool of "figuring out" who is who.

Here is a preview of my Back To School Booklet.  You can download it from my TPT Store. 

There is still a lot of summer left to enjoy but I'm all about baby steps toward getting myself ready for the new year.